The Year in Beer

Name: Good JuJu

Brewer: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colo.

By the numbers: About 135 calories per 12 oz.; 4.5 percent alcohol by volume

Notes: This is an interesting twist on a pale ale from Left Hand, a brewer whose beers I’ve pretty much always enjoyed. This is Left Hand’s spring seasonal, so I had it a bit out of season, but really it would be good at any time. Made with ginger, I guess you could call it a ginger ale and it is light and refreshing. It pours a hazy gold from the bottle with almost no head. The aroma is sweet and you can smell the spice. The ginger flavor is strong up front, but there is citrus on the back end from the Centennial, Goldings and Sterling hops. I likened it to a Kolsch with spice more than a spicy pale ale. It’s that light. Good JuJu indeed, but also good beer.

Try it with: A very nice November day. We had temps pushing 60 here in Central Illinois with a bit of sun. A perfect day for a bonfire. I’ll probably switch to darker brews when the temps starting dropping. The winter beers are pretty much in full effect in the liquor stores and there are also plenty of fall beers hanging around.

    — Posted by Mike Freimann